Cumani ready for Derby curtain call

13 April 2012

Derby hope Curtain Call could make his debut for Luca Cumani at Nottingham later this month. The Newmarket trainer is considering a run in the Blue Riband Trial — switched to the track while Epsom's new stand is finished.

Curtain Call, a 14-1 shot for the premier Classic at Epsom in June, was trained by Jessica Harrington in Ireland last season and won the Group Two Beresford Stakes at The Curragh in September.

But the son of Sadler's Wells was syndicated and switched to Cumani — who also bought into the colt — to tap into the trainer's proven Derby-winning record.

It is 10 years since Cumani won the Derby with High-Rise and 20 since Kahyasi gave him his first success in the race.

The trainer said: 'I haven't pressed any serious buttons yet but we are slowly getting there and I am pleased with what I have seen so far.

'His main Derby trial will be at Lingfield on May 10 and it is possible he will run in the Blue Riband Trial at Nottingham on April 23. We haven't done anything serious but he's certainly an exciting prospect.

'What he did as a two-year-old was excellent because he was not bred to win races over seven furlongs, so he can only get better.'

Thirteen supplementary entries were added to the Derby field yesterday at a cost of £8,000 each. They included the Henry Cecil-trained Twice Over, who was heavily backed for the race on Tuesday.

Those who make the big day will race in front of legendary Irish trainer Vincent O'Brien, who will be the guest of honour at the Classic he won six times.

Meanwhile, Cumani has indicated that a return trip to Australia for his 2007 Melbourne Cup runner-up Purple Moon is not a priority.

He will not run before Royal Ascot and will be aimed thereafter at richly-endowed races overseas. Cumani thinks he will be weighted out of the Melbourne Cup.

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